Real-time call control system

ABSTRACT

A system and method are provided for real-time call control. When a call is received at a telephone server for a service subscriber, the server identifies the subscriber and retrieves information that will allow the server to contact the subscriber via instant messaging. An instant message is sent to the subscriber, and includes any number of options for controlling or handling the call. The options may be presented as hyperlinks, or the selected option may be returned in another instant message. The subscriber selects an option and communicates it to the server, which effects the selected option. The server may establish an audio connection between the server and the subscriber&#39;s computer or communication device (to allow the parties to talk), may transfer the call to another number, play a message for the caller (which may be pre-recorded or recorded in real-time), record a voicemail (which the subscriber may screen), etc.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/815,819, filed Mar. 23, 2001, the entirety of which is incorporatedherein by this reference thereto.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to the fields of computer and communications.More particularly, a system and methods are provided for handling atelephone call in real-time.

When a telephone user or subscriber is not present when a call isreceived, there are generally few options for handling the call. Thecaller may be prompted to leave a voicemail message, the user'stelephone line may be set to forward the call to another number, or thecaller may simply hang up. Although the caller will likely be able tocontact the user eventually, at the same or a different number, thiswill require additional calls or other action on the caller's part. Itwould be advantageous to enable timely contact with the user (i.e., thecalled party) in order to inform him or her of the call and allow theuser to decide how to handle the call—whether to answer it, forward ortransfer it to another number, take a voicemail message, respond with asingle message, etc.

In one solution to the need for real-time call control, a presenceserver is configured to track the location of, or means of contacting, auser. The user employs a computer that communicates with the presenceserver and provides its location (e.g., network address). However, inthis solution the user's computer must be configured with custom orspecialized software for interfacing with the user and presence serverand enabling call control. Thus, the specialized software must beinstalled on each of the user's computers and must be upgraded in orderto provide different or additional functionality. And, the software onlyenables the user's computer to perform call control operations throughthe presence server.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment of the invention a system and methods are provided forenabling real-time call control without the use of specialized software.Existing communication methods are used to enable the real-time control,such as any of several varieties of instant messaging.

In this embodiment, a call is received at a call server for asubscriber. The subscriber and/or caller are identified (e.g., by theoriginal called number and caller ID fields) and a subscriber profile isconsulted to determine what call handling options to offer thesubscriber and how to offer them. Thus, the system may retrieve thesubscriber's user names for one or more instant messaging systems andsend one or more instant messages to notify the subscriber of the calland offer any number of call handling options. Illustrative callhandling options include answering the call, taking a voicemail message(with or without screening the message), transferring or forwarding thecall, playing a message for the caller, etc. If the subscriber does notrespond in a predetermined period of time the call server may apply adefault option.

If an instant messaging system that is used is hypertext-capable, theoptions may be presented as hyperlinks. In this case the subscriberselects a hyperlink option, is connected to the call server and mayprovide any additional information that is needed (e.g., a forward tonumber, a message to play for the caller). Alternatively, the subscribermay respond with an instant message identifying his or her selected callhandling option.

Upon receipt of the selected option, the call server takes the necessaryaction to handle the call: establish an audio connection with the user(e.g., through the instant messaging system, via voice over IP),connecting the caller to a voicemail module, transfer the call toanother number, retrieve a message and play it for the caller, etc.Text/speech conversion may be performed as necessary, to convert atextual message specified by the subscriber into audio form for thecaller, if the subscriber's computer/communication device is notequipped with both a microphone and speaker, etc.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a real-time call control system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative instant message for notifying asubscriber of the receipt of a call, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIGS. 3A-B comprise a flowchart illustrating one method of providingreal-time call control in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context ofparticular applications of the invention and their requirements. Variousmodifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art and the general principles defined herein maybe applied to other embodiments and applications without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the presentinvention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but isto be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles andfeatures disclosed herein.

The program environment in which a present embodiment of the inventionis executed illustratively incorporates a general-purpose computer or aspecial purpose device such as a hand-held computer. Details of suchdevices (e.g., processor, memory, data storage, display) are well knownand are omitted for the sake of clarity.

It should also be understood that the techniques of the presentinvention might be implemented using a variety of technologies. Forexample, the methods described herein may be implemented in softwareexecuting on a computer system, or implemented in hardware utilizingeither a combination of microprocessors or other specially designedapplication specific integrated circuits, programmable logic devices, orvarious combinations thereof. In particular, the methods describedherein may be implemented by a series of computer-executableinstructions residing on a storage medium such as a carrier wave, diskdrive, or computer-readable medium. Exemplary forms of carrier waves maytake the form of electrical, electromagnetic or optical signalsconveying digital data streams along a local network or a publiclyaccessible network such as the Internet.

In one embodiment of the invention, a system and methods are providedfor enabling real-time control of a telephone call. In this embodiment,a call made to a subscriber's telephone (e.g., home, work or mobiletelephone) is forwarded to a call control server when there is noanswer. In another embodiment, the subscriber's telephone service may beconfigured to forward all or a subset of all calls to the call controlserver (e.g., all calls from a specified number or area code).

The call control server is configured with one or more types of instantmessaging systems or services, such as those provided by AOL (AmericaOnLine), Microsoft, Yahoo, or some other provider. When the call isreceived at the call control server and the server identifies the calledsubscriber (e.g., by OCN—Original Called Number), the call controlserver sends an instant messaging message to the subscriber's device(e.g., computer, two-way pager, smart telephone), which provides thesubscriber with a number of options for handling the call. The optionsmay depend upon the type of device the user is operating and/or the typeof instant messaging with which the user and the call control servercommunicate, and may include any of the following as well as others:answer the call, forward or transfer the call to another number, take amessage, respond to the caller with a message (which may bepre-configured or configured when the user is notified of the call),etc. Default methods may be specified for handling calls when asubscriber is not available or does not respond.

When the subscriber selects a method of handling the call, a response issent to the call control server and the selected method is executed. Indifferent embodiments of the invention, the response may be sent to thecall control server via a return instant messaging message and/ordirectly to the server via a network (e.g., Internet) or othercommunication connection. In particular, if the subscriber uses aninstant messaging system that supports hyperlinks, one or more of theoptions provided to the subscriber via instant messaging may comprisehyperlinks that initiate http (HyperText Transfer Protocol) connectionsto the call control server, and the subscriber may choose to respond viaone of the hyperlinks and/or via a return instant message.

If the subscriber chooses to answer the call and the subscriber's deviceis equipped for audio (e.g., with a microphone and/or speaker), the callmay be converted at the call control server into a VoIP (Voice OverInternet Protocol) connection. Text-to-speech and/or speech-to-textsoftware may be employed if the subscriber's device does not have both amicrophone and speaker. In this embodiment, if the subscriber chooses torespond to the call with a message, the message may be selected from anumber of pre-recorded messages or may be recorded at the time of thecall in the subscriber's voice and then played for the caller.Alternatively, a textual message selected or composed by the subscribermay be converted to audio and played for the caller.

In another embodiment of the invention, in which the call control serverand the subscriber's device communicate only via instant messaging(e.g., an instant messaging system that does not support hypertext),answering the call may not be an option. Or, text/speech conversionsoftware may be used to allow the caller and subscriber to communicate.

In a present embodiment of the invention, the call control server may beconfigured to keep track of how to contact the subscriber by storing hisor her usernames, screen names or other identifiers for the instantmessaging service(s) he or she uses. Thus, the call control server maythen send instant messages (e.g., one message for each type of instantmessaging for which the subscriber's device is configured) to thesubscriber when a call is received. If the subscriber does not respond,the system may assume that he or she is not online and thereforeimplement a default call control option.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a real-time call controlsystem according to one embodiment of the invention. In the illustratedembodiment, caller 110 calls a subscriber from any type oftelephonically equipped device. The call is initially received at callednumber 120, which may be the subscriber's house, office, mobiletelephone, etc.

Because the subscriber is not present at the time of the call, his orher telephone line is busy, or because of the configuration of thetelephone service for the called number (e.g., automatic forwarding),the call is forwarded to call control server 130. Illustratively, callcontrol server 130 may be just one of multiple call control serversconfigured to enable real-time call control. Calls may be distributedamong multiple call control servers for load balancing purposes, toapply different levels of service for different subscribers, etc. Forexample, depending on the level of service requested by a particularsubscriber, he or she may be offered different subsets of the availablecall control options, additional storage space for storing voicemailmessages, the ability to record audio messages to be played for callers,etc.

At call control server 130, the system identifies the subscriber that isbeing called, which may be accomplished by looking up the OCN (OriginalCalled Number), which is received with the forwarded call, in a databaseof subscribers. The database may also identify the options that may beprovided to the subscriber, a default option to be applied if he cannotbe contacted, the type or version of instant messaging to be used tocontact him, the subscriber's username, screen name or other instantmessaging user identifier, etc. Further, call control server 130 mayalso identify the caller (e.g., via caller ID). The call control servermay, for example, look up the caller's telephone number in a telephonedirectory, a reverse-lookup directory service (e.g., such as thatoffered at http://www.infospace.com), or some other data collection(e.g., the called subscriber's address book). Depending on whether thecaller's name or other identifier (besides the caller ID number) can befound, the caller may be identified to the subscriber (in the initialinstant message) with any suitable identifying information.

Call control server 130 then initiates an instant message to thesubscriber via network 140 or other communication connection. Network140 may comprise the Internet or some other public or private networkcoupled to the call control server and the subscriber's device 150(e.g., computer 150 a, hand-held computer/communication device 150 b).Illustratively, the initial instant message informs the subscriber thata call has been received for him, indicates who the call is from (e.g.,by number and/or name), and offers any number of options for handlingthe call. Call control server 130 may initiate more than one message(sequentially or in parallel) if, for example, the subscriber uses morethan one type of instant messaging, more than one instant messaging useridentifier, more than one device (i.e., having more than one networkaddress), etc. If the subscriber cannot be contacted within apre-determined period of time (e.g., the instant messages are rejected,the subscriber does not respond), the call control server may abort thecall control process and apply a default call control option (e.g., takea voicemail message).

Depending on the type or version of instant messaging used, the initialmessage may present different call control options (i.e., those that arecompatible with the instant messaging system being used), and theoptions may take the form of hyperlinks that can be selected by clickingon the desired option. If the instant messaging system that is employedfor the initial message does not support hypertext, then the initialmessage may prompt the subscriber to respond to the initial message witha number or letter corresponding to the desired option. In this case theresponse may be sent back to call control server 130 via a returninstant message. In either case, however, the response that is initiatedby the subscriber is configured to identify the responding subscriber(e.g., by instant messaging username, network address, an identifier ofthe initial message sent to the subscriber, an identifier of the channelon which the call is received) and the selected call control option.

When using a hypertext-capable instant messaging system, selecting thedesired call control option will initiate a connection betweensubscriber device 150 and call control server 130. This may involveopening or directing a web browser or other suitable interface to thecall control server. A selected hyperlink may include key/value pairs tosend information (e.g., subscriber identity, selected option, identifierof call) to the server. The call control server may include a web serverfor receiving http connections from subscribers or may be coupled to aweb server that receives the subscribers' connections. Call controlserver 130 may also include an IVR (Interactive Voice Response device),a text/speech converter, and/or any other equipment useful in handling acall as described herein.

In one embodiment of the invention, if the process of contacting thesubscriber, receiving a call control option and implementing the optiontakes more than a threshold amount of time (e.g., thirty seconds), or ifthe process is expected to take a threshold amount of time, a recordingor other message may be played for the caller to let him or her knowthat the subscriber is being located, is being informed of the call,etc.

As described above, the manner in which the subscriber's selected callcontrol option is identified and acted on may depend upon whether theinstant messaging system used to contact the subscriber ishypertext-capable. If the instant messaging system is hypertext-capable,then an HTTP connection to the call control server (or web server) maybe opened for the subscriber, thereby allowing furtherinformation/control to be provided through a web or network interface(e.g., select or record in real-time a message to play for the caller,communicate with the caller via a text-to-speech interface, specify inreal-time a number to forward the call to). When the subscriber respondsfrom a device (e.g., a mobile telephone) or through an instant messagingsystem that does not offer hyperlinks, available call control optionsmay be limited to those that require only minimal subscriber input(e.g., take a voicemail message, play a pre-configured message, transferthe call to a specified number).

FIG. 2 illustrates one possible instant message interface that may beused to notify a subscriber of a telephone call and elicit a callcontrol option.

If the subscriber selects an option to forward or transfer the call(e.g., the “TRANSFER” option in FIG. 2), call control server 130switches the call to the specified number (which may be pre-selected orspecified by the subscriber when selecting the option). The initialinstant message may include multiple transfer options (e.g., one foreach forward-to telephone number known to the system).

If the subscriber selects an option to record a message from the caller(e.g., the “VOICEMAIL” option in FIG. 2), call control server 130connects the caller to a voicemail system, which may be part of the callcontrol server or may be coupled to it. In one alternative embodiment ofthe invention, the recorded message may be forwarded to the subscriber(e.g., as an audio file or as a converted speech-to-text message).

If the subscriber chooses an option to play a message or response forthe caller (e.g., the “voice response” options in FIG. 2), the selectedmessage may have been pre-recorded or may be recorded or enteredtextually by the subscriber when notified of the call. Call controlserver 130 may thus include an IVR (Interactive Voice Response device).If the instant messaging system is not hypertext-capable, the subscribermay be limited to identifying a pre-configured message, which may or maynot be recorded in the subscriber's voice. The initial instant messagemay thus identify a number of pre-configured messages, from which thesubscriber selects an appropriate choice. If the instant messagingsystem is hypertext-capable, then the user may be able to record amessage in real-time. Further, the subscriber may be provided with arelatively short message from the caller (e.g., a subject of the call)before the subscriber selects or records a response. In differentembodiments of the invention, a real-time response from the subscribermay be stored in audio or text. If text, it may then be converted toaudio and played for the caller.

As described above, in one embodiment of the invention the subscribermay choose to accept the call from the caller (e.g., the “TALK NOW”option in FIG. 2). Illustratively, if the instant messaging systemoffers VoIP service, the call control system may bridge the caller intoa VoIP instant messaging connection at the call control server.Otherwise, the call control server is configured to establish a VoIPconnection to the subscriber's device and bridge the caller into thisconnection. Yet further, if subscriber device 150 is not equipped with amicrophone or speaker, the call control server and/or the subscriber'sdevice may be configured to employ text/speech conversion to allow thecaller and subscriber to communicate.

In an embodiment of the invention in which subscriber device 150 isequipped with a speaker but no microphone, the subscriber may have anoption to send a custom (e.g., real-time) message to the caller. Thesubscriber thus enters the text of his message, which is relayed to thecall control server. The call control server then converts the messageto audio and plays it for the caller. In one implementation of thisembodiment, a VOIP connection is established between the call controlserver and the subscriber device (e.g., so that the caller's voice canbe heard at the device) and, when the converted text-to-speech messageis played for the caller (e.g., by playing it over the VOIP connection),the subscriber may also hear it.

In another embodiment of the invention, a subscriber may be offered theoption of screening a call (e.g., while the caller leaves a voicemailmessage). If this option is selected, the caller is connected to avoicemail module or system (e.g., an IVR) and a VOIP connection isestablished between the call control server (or IVR) and thesubscriber's device. As the caller records his or her message, themessage is also played on the device for the subscriber to hear. If thedevice is not equipped with a speaker, speech-to-text conversion may beapplied to provide the message to the subscriber. The subscriber may ormay not be provided with the opportunity to break into the call whilethe caller's message is being recorded

FIG. 3 illustrates a method of providing real-time call controlaccording to one embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, theinstant messaging system used to notify a subscriber of an incoming callis hypertext-enabled, which may allow the subscriber to be provided withmore call control options than may be offered via anon-hypertext-enabled instant messaging system.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, a call to a subscriber is received at acall control server in state 300. The call may have been forwarded tothe call control server from a residential, office, mobile or othertelephone of the subscriber. Or, the caller may have dialed anothernumber that is associated with the subscriber but which is answered bythe call control server. For example, a subscriber may subscribe to acall control service that allows callers to dial a central number thatthe call control server answers for the subscriber.

In state 302, the call control server identifies the subscriber.Illustratively, this may be done by examining the OCN (Original CalledNumber) received with the call.

In state 304 the server retrieves necessary data concerning thesubscriber and/or caller. This information may identify the type(s)and/or version(s) of instant messaging used by the subscriber, screennames or user names for the subscriber, network or other addressesassociated with the subscriber's computer or communication device, thecaller's name, etc. The subscriber's device may be configured such that,when the device is online, it connects to notifies the call controlserver of its address.

In state 306 the call control server sends an initial instant message(e.g., a message sent through a selected instant messaging system) tothe subscriber's device. The initial instant message includes any numberof options for controlling or handling the call. In this embodiment, theinstant messaging service used to deliver the message ishypertext-capable, and so the options are presented as hyperlinks. Morethan one initial instant message may be sent (e.g., to differentsubscriber devices, different user/screen names, through differentinstant messaging systems).

In state 308 the system determines whether a response (e.g., an optionselection) is received within a threshold period of time. If not, thesystem applies a default control option in state 310 and then exits.Otherwise, if an option selection is received, the call control server(and/or a web server) that receives the selection, or another systemmodule, will take the necessary action to handle the call as directed.

In state 312, if the selected option is to talk with the caller, thecall control server establishes an audio (e.g., voice over IP)connection with the subscriber's device and interconnects the caller instate 314. If the subscriber's device is not capable of two-way audio,text/speech conversion software may be executed as necessary. Afterstate 314, the illustrated method ends. If the selected option was to dosomething other than answer the call, the method proceeds to state 316.

In state 316, the system determines whether the subscriber has requestedthe server to transfer the call. If not, the illustrated procedureadvances to state 320. If the transfer option was selected, the systemtransfers the call to a pre-specified number or a number identified inthe subscriber's response, and then exits.

In state 320, the system determines whether the selected option is topass a message to the caller. If not, the illustrated method continuesto state 326. Otherwise, in state 322 a message may be recorded by thesubscriber, converted from text to speech, retrieved from storage, etc.The message is then played for the caller in state 324, after which theillustrated procedure ends.

In state 326, the system determines whether the selected option is totake a voicemail message. If not, the procedure may exit if an unknownoption was selected or may take other action as necessary to satisfyanother selection not addressed here.

In state 328, the system determines whether the subscriber wishes toscreen the voicemail message as it is recorded. If not, the illustratedprocedure advances to state 332. Otherwise, in state 330 the callcontrol system establishes an audio (e.g., voice over IP) connectionwith the subscriber's device and interconnects the caller and thenecessary voicemail module. In state 332, the voicemail module recordsthe caller's message and, if call screening was selected, the message issimultaneously passed to the subscriber's device and played for thesubscriber. If the subscriber is screening the voicemail message andchooses to pick up the call, in optional state 334 audio input from thesubscriber is enabled and the voicemail module may stop recording. Afterstate 334 the illustrated procedure ends.

The foregoing descriptions of embodiments of the invention have beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description only. They arenot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the formsdisclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent topractitioners skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above disclosure isnot intended to limit the invention; the scope of the invention isdefined by the appended claims.

1. A method of controlling a telephone call to an instant messaginguser, comprising: receiving at a call server a call directed to theuser; identifying an instant messaging service used by the user; sendingan instant message to the user through the instant messaging service tooffer the user one or more options for responding to the call; if noresponse is received from the user within a predetermined period oftime, controlling the call as specified in a default option; otherwise:receiving an option selection from the user; and controlling the call asspecified in said selected option; wherein when the user selects anoption to answer the call over the instant messaging service, saidcontrolling step comprises the step of: if the instant messaging serviceis not communicatively coupled to a speaker at the user's side,establishing verbal-textual communication between the caller and theuser by enabling speech-to-text software conversion.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said controlling step further comprises the steps of:if the instant messaging service is communicatively coupled to both amicrophone and a speaker at the user's side, establishing an audioconnection between the user and the caller; and if the instant messagingservice is not communicatively coupled to both a microphone and aspeaker at the user's side, establishing verbal-textual communicationbetween the caller and the user by enabling speech-to-text and/ortext-to-speech software conversion.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising determining a user name of the user for the instant messagingservice.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more optionsinclude one or more of the set of: transfer the call, answer the call,take a message from the caller and play a message for the caller.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said option selection is received in aninstant message from the user.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein saidselected option is presented in said instant message as a hyperlink andsaid receiving said option selection comprises receiving a communicationconnection initiated by the user's selection of said selected option. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein said selected option is to play a messagefor the caller, the method further comprising recording a message fromthe user.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said selected option is toplay a message for the caller and said controlling comprises: convertinga textual message provided by the user into audio; and playing saidconverted message for the caller.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein saidselected option is to answer the call and said controlling comprises:establishing an audio connection between the user and said call server;and bridging the call onto said audio connection.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein said audio connection is established through theinstant messaging service without further action by the caller.
 11. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the user is equipped for only one-way audioand said controlling step further comprises: executing one of atext-to-speech module and a speech-to-text module to allow communicationbetween the user and the caller in the direction opposite to saidone-way.
 12. A method of handling a telephone call for a subscriber,comprising: receiving at a call server a call for a subscriber;identifying a first computer-implemented instant messaging system usedby the subscriber; sending a first instant message to the subscriberthrough the instant messaging system, wherein said first instant messageincludes a first set of options for handling the call and one or more ofsaid first set of call handling options comprise links to said callserver; if the subscriber selects one of said first set of call handlingoptions: receiving a communication connection from the subscriber,wherein said connection is initiated by the subscriber's selection of acall handling option that comprises a link; and handling the call asspecified in said selected call handling option wherein when thesubscriber selects an option to answer the call over the instantmessaging service, the handling step comprises the step of: if theinstant messaging service is not communicatively coupled to both amicrophone and a speaker at the subscriber's side, establishingverbal-textual communication between the caller and the subscriber byusing speech-to-text software conversion.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein said handling step further comprises the step of: if the instantmessaging service is communicatively coupled to both a microphone and aspeaker at the subscriber's side, establishing an audio connectionbetween the subscriber and the caller.
 14. The method of claim 12,further comprising: if the subscriber does not respond to said firstinstant message within a predetermined period of time, handling the callas specified in a default call handling option.
 15. The method of claim12, further comprising: identifying the user by an original callednumber field of the call.
 16. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising: identifying the caller by a caller identification field ofthe call; wherein said first instant message includes an identifier ofthe caller.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein said links arehyperlinks to said call server.
 18. The method of claim 12, wherein saidreceiving a call comprises receiving a call forwarded to said callserver from a subscriber number originally dialed by the caller.
 19. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising retrieving user names of thesubscriber for one or more instant messaging systems.
 20. The method ofclaim 12, further comprising sending a second instant message to thesubscriber through an instant messaging system different from said firstinstant messaging system, wherein said second instant message comprisesa second set of call handling options.
 21. The method of claim 20,further comprising: if the subscriber selects one of said second set ofcall handling options: receiving a return instant message from thesubscriber, wherein said return instant message includes an identifierof a call handling option selected by the subscriber; and handling thecall as specified in said selected call handling option.
 22. The methodof claim 12, wherein said selected call handling option comprisestransferring the call and said handling the call comprises: transferringthe call from said call server to a telephone number identified by thesubscriber.
 23. The method of claim 12, wherein said selected callhandling option comprises playing a message for the caller and saidhandling the call comprises: playing a message identified by thesubscriber for the caller.
 24. The method of claim 23, furthercomprising converting said identified message from text to audio priorto said playing.
 25. The method of claim 23, further comprisingrecording said message prior to said playing.
 26. The method of claim12, wherein said selected call handling option comprises answering thecall and said handling the call comprises: establishing an audioconnection between said call server and the subscriber, without furtheraction on the part of the caller; and bridging the call onto said audioconnection.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein said device is notconfigured for two-way audio and said establishing an audio connectioncomprises: operating one of a text-to-speech module and a speech-to-textmodule.
 28. The method of claim 26, wherein said establishing an audioconnection comprises establishing an audio connection between said callserver and a communication device on which the subscriber received saidfirst instant message.
 29. The method of claim 12, wherein said selectedcall handling option comprises taking a voicemail message from thecaller and said handling the call comprises: connecting the call to avoice recording module; and recording a message from the caller.
 30. Themethod of claim 29, wherein the subscriber chooses to screen saidvoicemail message, the method further comprising establishing an audioconnection between said call server and the subscriber; and bridgingsaid audio connection onto said voice recording connection.
 31. Acomputer readable storage medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method ofcontrolling a telephone call to an instant messaging user, the methodcomprising the steps of: receiving at a call server a call directed to auser; identifying an instant messaging service used by the user; sendingan instant message to the user through the instant messaging service tooffer the user one or more option for responding to the call, whereinsaid options are based on a profile of the user; if no response isreceived from the user within a predetermined period of time,controlling the call as specified in a default option; and otherwise:receiving an option selection from the user; and controlling the call asspecified in said selected option; wherein when the user selects anoption to answer the call over the instant messaging service, thecontrolling step further comprises the step of: if the instant messagingservice is not communicatively coupled to both a microphone and aspeaker under the user's control, establishing verbal-textualcommunication between the caller and the user by using speed-to-textsoftware conversion.
 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising thestep of: if the instant messaging service is communicatively coupled toboth a microphones and a speaker under the user's control, establishingan audio connection between the user and the caller.
 33. A call controlsystem for handling calls in real-time, comprising: a call receivermodule configured to receive a call directed to a subscriber; a databaseof subscriber profiles, wherein a profile for a first subscriberincludes one or more user names of the first subscriber for one or moreinstant messaging systems; an instant messaging module configured tosend an initial instant messaging message to the first subscriber inresponse to receipt of a call for the first subscriber from a caller,wherein said initial instant messaging message includes a set of optionsfor handling the call, said set of options including an option to answerthe call over the instant messaging service, wherein if the instantmessaging service is not communicatively coupled to a speaker at theunder the user's control, verbal-textual communication is establishedbetween the caller and the user by enabling speech-to-text softwareconversion; a voicemail module configured to record an incoming messagefrom the caller if the first subscriber selects a voicemail option forhandling the call; and a message playback module configured to play anoutgoing message for the caller if the first subscriber selects amessage playback option for handling the call.
 34. The call controlsystem of claim 33, wherein one or more of said call handling options insaid initial instant messaging message comprise hyperlinks to the callcontrol system.
 35. The call control system of claim 34, furthercomprising a network server configured to receive a communicationconnection from the first subscriber initiated by the first subscriber'sselection of one of said hyperlink call handling options.
 36. The callcontrol system of claim 33, wherein said instant messaging module isfurther configured to receive a return instant messaging message fromthe first subscriber, wherein said return instant messaging messageincludes a selection of one of said call handling options.
 37. The callcontrol system of claim 33, further comprising an audio module configureto establish an audio connection with the first subscriber if the firstsubscriber selects a call handling option for answering the call. 38.The call control system of claim 37, wherein said audio module isfurther configured to establish an audio connection with the firstsubscriber if the first subscriber selects a voicemail with screeningoption for handling the call.
 39. The call control system of claim 33,wherein said message playback module comprises a text-to-speechconverter.